Jackson richaeds



(No Model.)

J. RICHARDS. LOOK CATCH FOR RAILROAD SWITCH LEVERS.

No. 264,417. Patented Sept; 12 1882..

WITNESSES: A-INVENTOR:

' ATTORNEY N. PETERS Plwwulho m han Wnlhinglml. D11,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACKSON EIoHAEDS, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AS SIGNOE T0 HIMSELF AND THOMAS SHAW, 0F SAME PLAoE.

LOCK-CATCH FOR RAILROAD-SWITCH LEVERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 264,417, dated September 12, 1882,

Application filed May 24,1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAcKsoN RICHARDS, of the city and county of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Lock-Catch for Switch-Levers of Railroads; andI hereby declare the following to bea full. clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists in the provision of a lock-levercatcl1,in combination with the switchlever, arranged in the manner and for the purpose hereinafter described.

The object of the invention is to insure the locking of the switch-lever automatically in order to prevent'the switch being shifted by the jolting of the'car-wheels over the same.

In order to enable others to use and practice my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

On reference to theaccompanying drawings, which form part of the specification, Figure 1 represents a top view of the device, and Fig. 2 an end view of the same, of which-- 8 is an ordinary fulcrum-support, secured to railroad-sill, and' b the ordinary switch-lever hinged to said support 8 by bolt, and c the ordinary connecting-rod secured to the track in usual manner.

d, Fig. 2, is the lock-catch, the dotted lines showing the elevated or unlocked position.

'to insert the locking-pin.

| nary way. The guide-link e is screwed firmly to railroad-sleeper a.

' It has been shown in practice that the j'olt- 40 ing of car-wh'eels over therail' will at times bounce up and throw over the switch-lever b when not firmly locked in place by the lockingpin, and that switchmen or brakemen operating switches will not always take the precaution 5 Hence the switch is liable to be shifted by the moving train and the cars thrown off the track, and it is to avoid accidents of this kind that the herein-described automatic lock-switch was provided, as by the use of this invention the switch is automati-' cally locked and the lever held firmly in place as soon as thrown over, without reference to I any precaution or care of the operator. The outer or long end of lock-catch d is much the heaviest end, and its natural position is the level position shown in Fig. 2.

The form of the inner end of the angle-slidirng catch is shown in Fig. 2, and when the switch-lever b is thrown down past the said catch-lever d the said switch-lever I) cannot be again elevated until said catch-lever d be elevated in position (shown by dotted lineslby the operator. 1

WhatI claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

The described lock-catch lever d, in combination with switch-lever b and the guide-links 0, operating in the manner described, for the purpose set forth.

JACKSON RICHARDS.

Witnesses:

T. SHAW, WM. B. HUGHES. 

